Don’t forget why we celebrate this holiday. Withour our military we would not be free for 236 years. They are the single only reason we maintain our freedom.

I love the article below because it points out exactly why I had so much success with my career. I always surrounded myself with really smart, competent people. I was very comfortable in letting people know when I needed help and asking for it. I trusted eveyone until they proved to me I could not trust them and I still gave them the benefit of the doubt and a second chance. My goal every day was to be an excellent leader and that includes asking and offering help and trusting people.

I loved the movie as well. I suggest you quit acting like you know everything because everyone else already knows you don’t have a clue about many things…..Being in a leadership position and being a leader are two different things….Lee

This guest post is by Dennis S. Reina and Michelle L. Reina, co-authors of “Rebuilding Trust in the Workplace” and “Trust and Betrayal in the Workplace.” They are co-founders of the Reina Trust Building Institute.

In the movie “The King’s Speech,” England’s King George VI turns to Lionel Logue, an unorthodox Australian speech therapist, to overcome his stammer. The two men become friends as they work together, and after his brother abdicates the British throne, the reluctant king relies on Logue to help him make a radio broadcast at the beginning of World War II.

We also see the movie as a parable — a story about a leader healing from the wounds of broken trust. King George VI had to heal from childhood betrayal before he could “find his voice” and become the leader his country needed at the brink of war. The king, however, found it extremely hard to ask for — and accept — support that he, as that would-be leader, needed.

If you’re like most leaders, you, too, struggle with asking for, and accepting, support — support you might need to perform, such as King George VI, to your most powerful potential. You probably think you should be able to go it alone, to have all of the answers. Yet, in failing to receive support, odds are you are depriving yourself — and your organization — of your true greatness. Accepting support isn’t a sign of weakness; it’s a sign of courage and strength. Only strong, self-aware leaders can size up a situation and see, realistically, what they can or cannot face alone.

In our work with leaders, we find that there are at least three common, instinctive reactions to the idea of receiving support. Our advice and insight for how to deal with them:

“I’m the leader here. I can’t let on that I need help.”

Sure, you can. People expect you to lead, and if accepting support from others will help you be an even better leader, it’s your best course of action. What’s more, by example, you’re letting your leadership team, among others, know that it’s OK to receive support, embrace their human-ness and to learn and grow through and with other people. That awareness can deepen their connection and commitment to one another and to the organization. It also builds trust and respect.

“I don’t know whom I can trust. I don’t want to open myself up to be vulnerable.”

Make a wise choice — and take the risk. Playing it close to the vest might be your default, but that doesn’t mean it’s the smartest thing to do. Also, ask yourself whether you’re really concerned about trust or, more likely, about letting others in. During highly stressful periods, you might unreasonably question everyone’s intentions. Resist those doubts and fears. They can — and will — hold you back.

“I want to be the best leader I can be for my organization. That has nothing to do with my personal life.”

Really? You’re a whole person, and your success comes from the sum of your experiences. Additionally, as a leader, your ability to build and rebuild trust with others has a lot to do with how you’ve dealt with — or haven’t dealt with — situations of broken trust in your life. If you don’t want to “go there” with someone within your organization, look for someone on the outside — your Lionel Logue.

I suggest you subscribe to Smart Brief on Leadership. It is a great blog…Lee

What is OPTIMAL BEING?…..It is the most favorable place you can be in your relationships, your health,your wealth and anything else you decide to be the best in. Remember, “Everything is hard before it is easy.”

Here are some nice replys from my post yesterday on how bad #Delta Airlines is. Looke like others agree with how good some airlines can be and how bad others can be. This is clearly a leadership issue.

Lee

Living in Atlanta, and having several friends who work
for Delta, I too cannot wait for the Southwest/Air Tran merger to be completed.
I have had a mindset of rewarding great service with my patronage. And after
reading your book, I am convinced that these continual lapses of judgement are
not mistakes. They are a mindset of the company and are allowed to continue because
they are not discouraged.

Hi Lee…great post!

Just a quick story about my travels on Southwest
Airlines.

Several years ago, I had traveled from Orlando to Houston
to visit my family. When I arrived at
the airport for my return trip to Orlando and went to check in, I was told that
my ticket was for the same flight the day before. (Don’t know how I did that…but, I
did!) What was I going to do?

The agent asked me to hang on that she needed to check
something out. After a few minutes of
banging away on her keyboard, she said that she had moved my ticket to that
days flight. She said she did it using
Rule #843 (I don’t remember the actual number…just an example). When I asked her what Rule #843 was, she said
it is the rule they use when no other rules make sense…so, she made up a rule
that day that anyone that misses their flight by a day gets moved to the
correct day without a problem. I LOVE
that rule!

It was all about doing the right thing! I MESSED UP…I MISSED MY FLIGHT…she fixed
the problem!

As a Houstonian, I have grown up with Southwest Airlines
and have long known that they are a different type of airline. (Southwest started service a few weeks before
WDW opening in 1971!)

Have a great trip!
Delta may love to fly…but, it doesn’t show!

Hi Lee

I have to agree, although my worst experiences these days
are on US Airways. I was flying to La Guardia this week from Richmond on a
3:40pm flight, and I happened to get there just in time to see my boss boarding
the 2:45pm flight to La Guardia from the same gate. I asked the gate attendant
how full the plane was, and he said “about halfway.” So I said,
“Great, can I get on this flight on standby?” And he replied,
“No, we don’t do standby unless we oversell, but we can switch you to it
for $50.” So here I am, standing at a gate an hour before my identical
flight on an identical plane to an identical destination, being asked to pay
$50 on top of my original fare for a seat that is about to leave empty. How
“policy” centric is that?

Meanwhile, for a far cheaper fare, JetBlue will check my
bag, give me the whole can of soda and an inflight snack, and let me watch
basic cable in my seat all for FREE! I hope you are right about the eventual
phase-out of these legacy airlines who act as if we’re still in the
“miracle of flight” era. Until they do, I will continue to give
JetBlue, AirTran, and SouthWest as much of my business as I possibly can.

I hope the rest of your trip with your family is much
smoother…..Tiffany

I am starting work on my second book which will be on the subject of SERVICE. I have many contenders for a full chapter. #Delta is in the lead right now for a whole chapter just about them. Sprint is a close second with AT&T not far behind. If anyone has any great stories on service which are magical or involve tragic, please send them to me at: Lee @LeeCockerell.com. My first book Creating Magic is doing well in ten languages and just completed the 12th printing in English. Have a good weekend….Lee

One of the chapters in my book Creating Magic focuses on ensuring as an organization you have policies and procedures which are reasonable and make sense for your customers. That chapter is titled, Eliminate Hassles.